When the Doctor met the Cullens
by Interface
Summary: The Doctor crashes on the Cullens land. Is he ready to embrace a world of vampires and werewolves? And can they embrace him? 11Doc/Riv, 11Doc/Esme(friendship)
1. Chapter 1

_Note: This isn't a "Doctor/Esme getting it on fic", it's more of the Doctor finding out that there are existences whereby you don't have to watch the people you love die around you. Quite a sedate fic... So far._

_There's only a small introduction here, but there's about 7K+ awaiting upload. So if its something you want more of, let me know by dropping a comment in the review section; otherwise my recycle bin will be extremely happy to digest the entire word doc. :P and I shall return, defeated, to the drawingboard.  
_

_Whovians fear not, it's not all bites and sparkles. It's more sonic and bowties. :P  
_

* * *

The Doctor climbed up out of the fallen time machine, his singed tweed was still smoking. His floppy hair stuck out at all angles. Coughing into his ever on hand handkerchief the time lord finally surrendered to the darkness closing in around his vision. He fell lifelessly onto the soft earth, the damp leaves and moss cushioned the short drop. It was pure bliss after the nightmare that had triggered this unexpected crash landing.

It had all started with an argument with his other half. He remembered it so clearly.

* * *

River Song, was the Doctor's wife; half time lord, half human. They were both avid time travellers, the Doctor travelled the universe in his time machine, the TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. River on the other hand, preferred the more dangerous, and by her own admission, the more exciting vehicle of her vortex manipulator. _Cheap and nasty time travel_according to her husband. The wristwatch device had yet to fail her, she always reached the Doctor in one piece and always just in time. Their timelines were heading in opposite directions; both had reached the middle point of their complicated relationship. Both finally having the same knowledge of the other.

'Finally,' the Doctor breathed as they had compared diaries.

'Here we are at last,' she agreed with him.

And for a brief few days their relationship involved no running, no enemies, no defending planets, none of the usual unpredictable thrills. The Doctor, the lonely traveller for over 1103 years, was finally content. He lay with River's head on his chest, breathing in the scent of her hair, and the wonders of the universe. He bit his lip, played gently with her blonde curls. River stirred and turned her sleepy gaze on him.

'What's wrong?'

'I want to stop all this'

'Stop what?'

'The next time we meet, you're going to know me less, and I'll know you more. I can't live with seeing you, and you not knowing who I am. I don't want to say goodbye anymore'

'Doctor, I...'

'I want you to stay with me. Forever'

'Doctor I have a career out there, I have a job, a life...'

'You can have a life with me'  
'Doctor, it's not the same thing'

The Doctor, in this regeneration, was a man of built up emotions. Full of caring and feeling; especially for River. He cupped her face in his hands, 'River, I don't want to be without you. We can, we can give up all the travelling, settle down. We can conserve our regenerations, live forever...'

'Doctor _stop_'

Before he could react, she was up and heading into the console room of the Tardis and securing the vortex manipulator to her wrist. The Doctor pursued her around the controls. Attempting to stop her from lowering the shields. Their frantic battle over the controls escalated into a perfectly timed dance around the console.

'Why is it so wrong for us to spend a lifetime, together?' The Doctor's voice broke slightly, his expression one of hurt confusion, 'You married me'

'We can't have the life you want, if we do this now, then in your past I'll never meet you. Then what?' Her eyes brimmed on the edge of tears, 'Tell me Doctor, when would we have ever met? I'm grateful for every second I get with you, no matter how painful, no matter how much trouble we get into. But time can't be rewritten. You've already seen my future, and so it must be that way'

'River I don't care how many laws of time we have to break, I don't care. I still want you to stay with me, I love…'

'Now is not the time for you to turn into a sentimental idiot,' River broke into a weak, trembling smile, 'Aimlessly travelling the universe is you, it's not me. You'll see me again Doctor, at Asgard. I _promise_'

He started towards her, 'Don't do this' His plea fell on deaf ears as his wife's patience thinned further.

River withdrew her sonic blaster, and fired a single _'warning shot'_through the central console. Smoke and sparks billowed and spat from the freshly made hole. His world stood still as his faith time machine began to burn. Regret seeped through her, but River held on tightly to the gun, 'I'm sorry, but you can't follow me my love'

While the Doctor hurriedly tried to repair the hole with his sonic screwdriver, River set coordinates in her vortex manipulator, and in a flash she was gone. The Doctor, in his damaged Tardis, plummeted towards Earth, breaking through the atmosphere in a smouldering blue box of flames. 'Raise shields! Raise the shields!' He pleaded of his time machine. Unable to carry out such a function the Tardis made heavy impact with a surprisingly wet, damp and spongy surface.

* * *

His vision was blurred as he stirred back into the realm of the conscious. He was sure that the repeated splash of water droplets on his face was what had finally awoken him. His hypothesis was confirmed as one landed squarely in his eye.

'Erhh,' he complained smudging the rain water out with a finger. The Doctor by nature was extremely observant; currently he observed that every piece of clothing he was wearing was soaked through. He sat bolt upright, flipped his now wet floppy hair out of his face, straightened his bow tie and began calculating, in his unique way, what on earth he was going to do next. To his right the Tardis was already commencing its 24 hour repair cycle. It lay on its back, doors facing the canopy of trees above. The Doctor scrambled up on top, and attempted to get inside by jumping up and down on the double doors, to no avail. He crouched down and opened the phone booth door. Thank goodness that he'd never fixed the chameleon circuits, the time machine forever took the form of a 1960s British police public call box, which incidentally had a phone. As the dial tone failed to chime in his ear the Doctor realised that the phone lines would be down during the repair cycle. He cursed at his own stupidity, slammed the phone hub shut and hopped back down to the soft earth. The loud snapping of a twig drew his attention to the many pairs of amber eyes upon him. For a brief second, and for the first time in his life, the Doctor almost felt threatened.

"Oh,' he opened his arms in an awkward sort of embrace, 'Hello'

He was suddenly aware of the unequal standoff he'd found himself in with these eight strangers. They surrounded him in a half circle. He opened and closed his mouth a few times uncertain of this new and unexpected situation. Frowning he found himself struggling to stay upright, everything seemed so thick and confusing.

The very pale, blonde male spoke out first, 'You seem to be lost, perhaps we can help you'

The Doctor glanced very briefly over his shoulder at the repairing Tardis before returning his gaze to the group, he clasped his hands together nervously and swallowed hard, 'Help would be nice,' he finally decided, 'Where exactly are we?'

'You're in Forks friend'

'Ah, okay,' The Doctor struggled slightly with his bearings, '... I've never heard of that planet'

'Planet?' the shorter dark haired male looked slightly puzzled, his amber eyes analysed the Doctor.

'Hey now, that's quite rude trying to read someone's mind without permission' the Doctor handled his bow tie very briefly as a comfort. He took a few careful steps towards them, noting the equal numbers of men and woman.

With her arm around the blonde males waist, one of the females halted the Doctor almost immediately, 'Oh you have two heart beats,' she said gently with the kindest smile, and added, 'Thats very unique"

The Doctor responded with his best smile, 'I'm the Doctor,' he told her calmly.

'Esme Cullen,' her amber eyes lit up with her smile, 'you're soaking. Our home isn't far, can we offer you shelter?'

Ignoring the other eyes upon him the Doctor simply shrugged, 'Shelter would be very nice'

When Esme had said 'home' the Doctor had not expected to be greeted with an open plan, modern mansion like structure. He admired its beauty as he was led towards the concealed glass doors, fascinated by the way the rain trickled down every pane of glass. His thoughts wandered to his Tardis out there in the woods, obviously much bigger than this structure, internally anyway. But did it make it a home? The Doctor suddenly realised that everyone had already gone inside, yet he remained frozen just before the doorway. Esme stood holding the door open, kindness lining her every pale feature.

'Please,' she motioned for him to follow, 'Come inside and meet our family'


	2. Chapter 2

They'd gathered in the living area, occupying the chairs and the sofa, as if for a family photo. The Doctor hid his amusement at this obvious attempt at human behaviour. The blonde male stood, hands clasped in front.

'This is my husband, Carlisle' Esme swept a hand over his shoulder brimming with pure adoration for her other half.

'It's a pleasure to meet you, I don't think we had a chance to catch your name' He offered a hand out towards the Doctor. This close the Doctor could see no sign of imperfection on Carlisle's face. Now he thought about it, there had been no sign either on Esme's face. As their hands locked in a tight handshake the Doctor was taken aback by how cold Carlisle was, how pale his skin was, how pale they _all_were in fact. Their eyes locked, the burning amber in those friendly eyes haunted him, and the Doctor pulled his hand away sharply.

'Im the Doctor'

'A Doctor,' Carlisle beamed, 'I don't remember seeing you at the hospital'

The Doctor resented this kind of playful grilling, especially in front of an audience, 'I'm not that kind of Doctor'

'Then what kind are you?'

'This is Emmet and Rosalie,' Esme hurriedly interrupted working her way around the group. The Doctors eyes followed her as she moved gracefully around her family. Emmet was huge, built like a grizzly bear; and in contrast the Rosalie girl was more like a fragile doll, blonde, slim and very beautiful.

The Doctor smiled and nodded, 'Nice to meet you'

'This is Alice and Jasper'

Again the Doctor smiled, despite being unnerved by the pained expression coming from the fair haired Jasper.

'Don't worry about him,' Alice reassured him, 'He's just getting used to your hearts beating'

The Doctor swallowed hard, perhaps the expression wasn't one of pain at all. Perhaps it was one of a predatory nature, hunger perhaps. He winced suddenly, there it was again. Something trying to penetrate his thoughts, he looked around the group and spied again the smaller, almost boy like now he was this close, member of the group.

'Thoughts are private,' the Doctor told him.

'Edward,' Esme scolded, 'Respect people's privacy whom you've only just met'

'Im sorry Esme, it won't happen again' Edward's eyes never strayed from the Doctor, who stared back with a mild look of annoyance, 'I'm Edward, this is my wife, Bella' The dark haired girl beside him was definitely struggling with something. She was fidgeting, crossing and uncrossing her legs, clasping and unclasping her hands. She whispered urgently into Edward's ear. 'Bella and I are going to take a walk outside. It was nice to meet you'. The pair upped and left, quite quickly the Doctor noted. His frown instantly triggered Carlisle into his defensive talk.

'Bella is new to our family,' Carlisle explained, 'It's very difficult for her, especially when in the presence of someone with, uh, such an unusual physiology' He smiled warmly for a moment, 'Let me find you some dry clothes, you must be freezing'

The Doctor followed slowly, leaving the staring eyes and Esme's warm smile behind. He took the stairs cautiously, and paused, to admire the art, a square frame housing many graduation caps. The Doctor ran his finger along the edge of a navy blue one; he pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, and traced it along the same edge, _"Eight decades old at the very least,"_he took a step back from the display and let his eyes brush over the many colours. Eyebrows furrowed and the Doctor clenched his jaw tightly shut.

'Everything alright?' Carlisle appeared at the top of the stairs.

'I'm just admiring your collection of mortarboards,' the Doctor tucked his screwdriver away into his jacket pocket, took one last look at the caps and proceeded up the stairs, conclusions drawn.

* * *

'So,' Carlisle began as he opened the large wardrobe doors in the room that he shared with Esme, 'What brings you to Forks?'

'It's a long story' The Doctor struggled out of his wet jacket and let it drop in a sodden pile to the floor, 'There was a problem with my vehicle'

'The box,' Their eyes met suddenly, the two men stared for a moment at each other, 'Alice um. Alice is very gifted, she can see the future. She saw that you and your _'vehicle'_ would crash here on our land'

'Your land?'

'We've been here a long time, it's somewhat, acquired'

'So the others. Are they gifted like Alice?' The Doctor, slipped on the fresh white shirt that Carlisle handed to him.

'I'm sure you know already that Edward can read minds, though usually the person doesn't realise that he's doing it. You must have a gift of your own'

'And the rest?' The Doctor ignored Carlisle's statement.

'Uh, Emmet is exceptionally strong. Jasper can, control the mood of a room. Bella's mind is shielded, much like your own. My wife Esme, has compassion beyond anyone you'll ever come across'

'What about the other girl, Rosalie?'

Carlisle chuckled softly, 'Rosalie, well, Rosalie is beautiful'

The Doctor broke into a smile, 'Of course'

'I'm certain that we can recreate your attire from our collection here. We all have our favourite time periods after all,' Carlisle gave the Doctor a knowing look and searched through many drawers before finding at last a neat blue bow tie, 'It's not as new as the one you have but, it does the job. I have many a fond memory of wearing such a thing' The Doctor admired the small bundle of material in his hand.

'Thank you'

'It's not a problem...' A beeping came from Carlisle's pocket, he produced a pager, 'I'm needed at the hospital. Please, help yourself to anything here'.

In a wisp of cold air, Carlisle swept out of the room. The Doctor paused a brief moment, then searched the wardrobe for some trousers and the like. He even stumbled upon a navy set of braces. He'd just clipped the last clasp onto his trousers when a soft knock at the door caught his attention. He turned to see Esme in the doorway, 'I hope you found everything you need,' she held her hands together, 'Are you hungry?' The Doctor didn't get a chance to respond, his stomach did all the talking for him. Esme chuckled shyly, 'I'll take that as a yes' Blushing, the Doctor followed her. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror on the way out. In the crisp white shirt, matching navy tie and braces, with black trousers. He almost liked the time lord staring back at him, the only problem remaining was how lonely he still was.


	3. Chapter 3

In the kitchen he found that cooking didn't come naturally to the kindest Cullen. With a cooking show as a guide on the table top television Esme did her best to replicate the show's masterpiece presented on the hazy screen.

'You cook often?' The Doctor asked taking a seat at the counter to watch her.

'This is only the second time we've used the kitchen,' she confessed. If she'd been capable the Doctor was certain, that at this point Esme would have blushed.

'Why's that?'

'Carlisle hasn't told you?' She continued to work a sharp knife in her hand through the tomato on the chopping board. The Doctor tilted his in apparent question, eying the speed at which the knife was chopping; it was positively inhuman.

He chose his words carefully, speaking them very slowly and calmly, 'Told me what?'

'We're vampires,' the voice from the doorway made them both turn sharply.

'Edward, there's a less forward way to say these things,' Esme frowned across him. He stood in the doorway, leaning against the door frame. Arms folded defensively in front of him. His expression was cold and blank, pretty much like his whole person, the Doctor found himself un-intimidated.

'I knew already,' the Doctor half whispered. A sound test is probably what you call the Doctor's subtle measure of the 'young' Cullen's hearing. Edward frowned, putting creases across his seemingly perfect complexion, 'The graduation caps, you're too pale, you're too cold,' the Doctor waved his hand at the kitchen, 'You don't eat, well at least not here. And the bedroom,' he turned his eyes upon Esme, 'No bed,' he told her.

'We aren't human,' Edward took a few steps towards the Doctor, 'But you aren't either, so what are you?'

'I'm a Time Lord. I travel in time and space'

'Why are you here?'

'My time machine crashed here'

Edward laughed loudly, creases formed around his gleaming eyes, 'This sounds ridiculous'

'And claiming to be a vampire isn't?'

'Well it's the truth'

'I'm also being truthful,' the Doctor told him calmly. He lent back against the counter top and watched the frustrated Edward formulate his next question.

'Why can't I read your thoughts?'

'Because its rude' The Doctor attended to his bow tie very promptly with his clear cut statement.

'No I mean why do you have the ability to stop me'

'Like I said, I'm a Time Lord'

'You say that like it means something to me'

'Edward,' Esme snapped, 'I didn't raise you to speak like this to guests'

'Esme, Bella can't even be in the same house as him. This is _her_ home, and she can't come here because of his… his…'

'Binary vascular system' The Doctor threw in, inappropriately helpful as he always was.

'You have your own home with Bella. This isn't going to be forever, I'm sure that Doctor...uh...'

'Just the Doctor'

'I'm sure that the Doctor wants to get back to his travelling'

'I'll be at the house'

In a blow of cool air, Edward vanished. The Doctor frowned as the breeze ruffled his hair.

'Edward is very fast,' Esme informed him as she continued to cook.

'You all move so quickly?'

'To your eyes yes, but between us the difference can be noticeable'

The Doctor smiled, and scratched his head in thought, 'So do you live forever?'

'We're immortal. But we can die,' she looked up at him with mischief in her gaze, 'Only if we lose our heads about it. How about you Doctor?'

'It's complicated'

'Oh believe me, I know complicated' The sincerity in her happy features softened him, he took a deep breath before allowing himself to open up to her.

'I can live forever, I don't age. But if my body is harmed beyond repair, then I have the ability to regenerate. Everything about me changes, I become an entirely different person,' Esme watched him, with no judgement in her eyes. No hint of misunderstanding, 'Let me show you,' he offered patting down his pockets to locate his small blue diary, inside were many sketches and odd photographs of all the incarnations he had been. Esme's eyes scanned over each one quickly.

'This is extraordinary. What a gift you have' Her positive nature only half surprised him; she'd been accepting so far of all his unusual characteristics, even accepted without question, that he was a Time traveller.

'You don't think it's a curse to live forever? Watching everyone you ever knew die?'

Her big friendly eyes took hold of his, 'It is very sad to experience all that loss and heartache,' she admitted, 'Our family will always have each other'

'They must be very important to you'

'Our kind don't tend to group together, we've all been very lucky to have Carlisle in our lives. How do your kind live Doctor?'

'There are none of my kind any more, it's just me. Just me and my ship'

'That sounds lonely' The Doctor glanced up at her as she set down the prepared meal in front of him; and offered him perfectly kept cutlery which he accepted slowly.

'So how come I'm still alive?'

'You mean why haven't we eaten you?' Esme raised her eyebrows at him in amusement, 'We have a special kind of diet Doctor. We only satisfy our thirst by feeding from animals. We live as vegetarians of our kind' She sat on the stool beside him, and watched as he ate every last bite. She sighed, 'I can't remember the last time I ate a human meal,' the Doctor swallowed the last forkful.

'How long have you been a vampire?'

'A lady never reveals her age Doctor, but I've been 26 for a long time'

'I'm 1103, so at least you're forever young'

'No special person in your life Doctor?'

'There have been,' he sighed and took to looking out of the window, 'There is one woman in my life,' he chuckled, 'My wife actually'

'She's a very lucky woman'

'She isn't lucky, our relationship is anything but perfect. We're time travellers, going in opposite directions. My firsts are her lasts. I've seen her death and she's seen mine' He rested his chin in his palm, 'I asked for her to stay with me, we argued, and well, here I am' He gave a brief smile that faded almost as quickly.

'Im sure she has her reasons Doctor'

'If we stay together then we'd cause all sorts of problems. We have to meet in our pasts for our futures to happen' Esme felt the sadness radiating from him.

'It's a decision that is probably hurting her, as much as it is you'

'River is a very strong woman'

'All women have feelings Doctor, even the strong ones' She swept up the plate and piled everything into the barely used dishwasher in an instant. The Doctor marvelled at how quickly and precisely she moved. It made him realise how clumsy he was. He smiled dazedly for a moment, 'If you'd like to have a tour of the town, we'd be very happy to show you around. Or if you need tools to repair your ship, we can open up the garage, you're welcome to anything you need'

'That's very kind of you Esme, my ship repairs itself, but a tour would be brilliant'

'I'll take you,' the sweet voice of Alice sailed in from the outside door, 'We're going to have a great time'

Esme smiled widely, 'That's kind of you Alice. Don't go too near the border, let's not have the Doctor involved in all that'

'I won't, come on. We can take the Porsche,' the mischievous wink told the Doctor all he'd need to know about the all-knowing Alice.

'Thank you for the meal,' he offered a peck on each cheek to the delighted Esme. He was sure this was how earth people thanked one another, his movements were awkward but the kind thought behind it pleased Esme immensely.

'You're welcome Doctor'


	4. Chapter 4

_Note: I uploaded this... and then forgot to publish... arrrgh. _

* * *

The car ride was almost more than the Doctors hearts could take. The quick reactions of these vampires meant very little care for speed limits. Alice's demeanour was one of a Sunday driver out for a relaxing drive, yet the screeching of the tyres told a whole different story. She hit the brakes so hard the Doctor was certain he'd end up a time lord - pancake on the road in front of the shiny yellow Porsche.

'So what do you want to do?' She asked happily looking directly in his eyes with genuine interest. The Doctor unbuckled his seatbelt and stretched one hand out to open the door.

'You see the future, you tell me' He grinned and got out, but she was there when he turned around, 'How did you do that?'

Alice leaned in very close, almost tickling his ear with her lips as she whispered, 'Vampire, duh'

'You do know that the future isn't set in stone?' the Doctor leaned back casually onto the Porsche.

'I know,' Alice danced gracefully to lean against the car beside him, 'So who's River?'

'How do you know about River?'

'I heard you talking with Esme, and I've seen her in your future'

'What did you see?'

'I can't tell you that'

'Who said?'

'You did'

'When?'

'In another reality of our chat, see Doctor? The future changes. But I see every possibility' He considered her carefully; still she continued to beam at him.

'Do you see all of my futures?'

'No of course not, Doctor you have too many'

'But you've seen River...'

'She's your future Doctor' Alice sprung from the car in her graceful manner, 'Come on I'll show you around' The Doctor swallowed hard, fixed his bow tie, and with a quick flip of his hair, he followed her, 'So these are the only stores here, if you want anything bigger, designer maybe…,' she eyed his attire not quite quickly enough for him to not notice, '…you'd have to travel outside of Forks'

The Doctor's eyes passed over each of the old worn out looking shops. He'd seen much worse, he'd once bought a wooden spork from a sea snail who lived in a mud hut in the 77th desert constellation; definitely worse than this place. Alice's chucking brought him out of his daydream.

'What?' He grinned realising that his thoughtful face was probably quite entertaining.

'I'm sure you'll find out'

'You know, my wife keeps the future from me, just like that,' he pulled briefly on his braces, allowed them to snap back and then continued to follow the delightful Cullen along the street full of family-run businesses, 'I love a little shop,' he pressed his face against the glass of an empty store, cupping out the light with his hand. His breath fogged up the dirty surface blocking the desolate view of the interior.

'So you travel in time,' Alice moved closer so that they wouldn't be overheard by passers-by.

'… and space'

'Can you meet yourself?'

'No, that would cause, problems'

'Oh, so what happens when you've visited every time and every place? Where will you go?'

The Doctor turned his eyes on her, but said nothing. Alice stared silently back, not quite knowing what to make of this mysterious Doctor. He took a deep breath and turned his whole body towards her. She was small, but after watching the slender Esme moving so swiftly around the kitchen, he knew how quick she would be, 'I'd live in the Tardis,' he said finally.

'For the rest of your life?'

'It would have to be that way'

'You have plenty of other choices'

'Really' He replied flatly.

The conversation was obviously strained and Alice was actually relieved that the time came for her and Jasper to meet for their hunt.

* * *

The Doctor sat on the steps of the Cullen's home staring out into the woodland surrounding the beautiful structure. Just off the path to the right of his shoe he spotted bluebells not yet in bloom, with a heavy sigh he took out his screwdriver and gave the buds a short sonic burst, they bloomed at a quickened pace. The Doctor smiled at them absentmindedly before turning his attention back to the trees and the large brown wolf... Wait... The wolf?!

He sprung up, sonic still in hand, turning this way and that but could see no help to save him from the enormous creature prowling towards him, 'Stay back, ' he warned unconvincingly, 'I'm armed, and very extremely dangerous, well, Actually, probably not dangerous at all. However, I have been known to... Aaahh' The wolf pounced a few more feet towards him, the Doctor stumbled backwards up the steps landing painfully on his back. The wolf stood over him, paws either side of his waist. It growled deeply.

'Ohh Jacob no no no!' Esme rushed onto the wooden deck, 'He's a guest! He's a guest! Please don't worry Doctor, Jacob means no harm' The Doctor scanned the wolf with his screwdriver, flashing green into its huge chocolate eyes.

'You're a werewolf,' he exclaimed checking the reading. With an unimpressed snort the wolf stalked off into the bushes and out emerged a tanned young man. Esme pulled the Doctor to his feet with stunning ease. He shook off the shock though he kept his screwdriver on hand, his other arm shielding the highly amused Cullen.

'What a wimp. Jacob Black,' he offered his hand out to the Doctor, 'Any friend of the Cullen's, who isn't a vampire, is a friend of mine'

'I'm the Doctor, so one would presume, that vampires and werewolves are natural enemies?'

'Wow, he's fast,' Jacob joked, 'Where'd you get this one from?'

'What brings you here Jacob?' Esme moving forward to give him a gentle hug.

'I wanted to see Nessie'

'She's with Edward and Bella'

'Guess it must be hard for Bella to be near this guy huh, I heard those hearts beating all the way from La Push'

'Well my two hearts aren't very obvious to the average human, but I imagine a tail, four legs and fur get in the way somewhat' Jacob laughed showing off his perfectly white teeth.

'It can get in the way sometimes,' he agreed, 'I'm gunna go see Ness, I'll see you later' He ran barefoot off into the dense forest.

'Maybe I should have warned you about Jacob,' Esme chuckled as they re-entered the house. The Doctor froze, in the hallway, stood proud and tall, was his Tardis. Beside it was a bucket of soapy water and a sponge in a foamy heap beside that, 'Oh, Emmett carried it to the house. I hope that was okay. Carlisle was worried you might get lost out there looking for it. It's very easy to get lost out there,' she bit her lip gently, 'I wiped it down; it was very messy'

The Doctor felt a hot burning sensation in his pocket; he withdrew the bright shiny Tardis key. It glowed fiercely in his hand. It slid perfectly into the lock, just as he was about to turn it he remembered Esme stood patiently next to him, 'Let me show you my life' He turned the key and slipped through the doorway.

When Esme entered the Time Machine she was in instant awe.

'It's okay, you can say it. I've heard them all' The Doctor stood watching her reaction; he loved seeing the wonder in the eyes of the few who had travelled with him. It reminded him of how lucky he was. Every day he took his travelling for granted, he'd long forgotten how magical walking into the Tardis for the first time was.

'It's very beautiful Doctor' She closed the door gently, the lock clicked into place. Her heels clattered on the metal as she made her way up to newly repaired console unit. Through the central glass column she could see the Doctors happy distorted face looking back at her. She ran her cool, pale hands across the controls and levers slowly, tracing her fingertips over the buttons. The Doctor watched her intently, despite her heightened vampire senses Esme remained oblivious to his eyes upon her, 'This is your world? You travel in this?'

'Anywhere, and any time'


	5. Chapter 5

'Doctor, when Carlisle turned me, I was dying; my heart beat so low that human Doctors thought I was dead. Carlisle could hear my heart still beating; and he turned me into a vampire to save my life,' The Doctor said nothing, he leaned against the console holding it tightly, and gave her his full attention, 'The pain was like nothing I'd ever felt before. To die would have been less excruciating, but from that moment, despite the thirst, that was the night my life truly started, a second chance'

The Time Lord, found his eyes locked onto the floor for a brief moment, his mind deep in his own thought process. The pain she described reminded him very much of his regenerations; when every cell in his body felt like it was on fire; when he yelled out in that moment of hot bright yellow light; transforming into someone new. He finally gave the slightest nod, and a soft mumble of, 'I understand. I do,' and turned to the console, he flicked levers, turned switches, and pressed buttons, 'Hold on,' he told her before pulling the dematerialisation lever. The collected vampire needed no support to stand through the turbulence but she held on anyway to be polite. When the final rumble subsided the Doctor took her icy hand in his and led her, as he had done with many a traveller before, to the doors of the Tardis, he took a moment to slip on his spare tweed jacket from the hat stand, 'If we meet anyone, I'll do the talking, and don't wander off,' he beamed.

They emerged into a dark corridor, the walls were bare stone, the night air was cold, though Esme couldn't feel that. The Doctor gripped her hand firmly, biting his lip as he decided on whether they would go left or right down the almost pitch black corridor. The only light came through the tall windows, silver moonlight, 'Left? How about left? No, never settle for first instincts, they're always wrong. Very wrong'. The Doctor chose to take off down the right of the corridor.

Esme's grip on his hand tightened, her enhanced hearing picked up footsteps in the distance coming towards them, 'Doctor, I hear someone coming' The Doctor strained his ears to listen, looking repeatedly from the dark tunnel like corridor to Esme's serious expression.

'Are you sure?' He fiddled with the sonic, held it to his ear in an attempt to enhance his hearing.

'Doctor, trust me. Someone is coming this way. We should hide'

'Trust me,' the Doctor repeated as if in a stupor. But that was his line; he was the one who asked people to trust him. He eyed Esme with a thoughtful frown. The footsteps drew within his hearing range, 'In here,' the Doctor muttered pressing against a large wooden door on their right. Once through, he used his sonic screwdriver on the ancient steel handle, and sealed it shut, 'Just a precaution,' he reassured his companion, though he was certain she could rip the door off its hinges and single handedly protect them both anyway. Their only path now was down a narrow spiral staircase. It was pitch black, the Doctor's sonic screwdriver barely lit up a foot in front of them, Esme however, didn't struggle with the lack of light, another perk of the transformation.

'Where are we?' She asked at last as the stairs went on for what seemed like a millennia.

'You'll see,' the Doctor whispered back calmly.

Finally after they'd reached the bottom step realisation hit the female Cullen. Her sharp eyes flew to each of the steel framed trolleys laid out, thin worn curtains pulled back between them. The occupants, she could sense, had no sign of life in them. All except one. She could hear a faint heartbeat. So faint she could almost have missed it. It was such a timid sound compared to the roaring of the Doctors hearts. On the furthest trolley, close to a window cut into the rock face of the cliff side hospital was Esme herself. Human and near death. The Doctor pulled her quickly to hide in a nearby unused cabinet; he left the door slightly ajar to aid Esme's view of herself. A nearby door opened and closed, emerging into the vampires view, was her husband Carlisle, dressed in his white Doctors coat and looking as pale as the moonlight. He perched himself on the trolley beside her, held her hand, and touched her face. She was certain that he even wept slightly as he rocked backwards and forwards beside her body. He seemed to be in some internal turmoil. Eventually he leaned down low over Esme's almost lifeless body. As his teeth pierced the delicate skin of her neck Esme could almost feel once again the hot venom seeping through her body. The painful heat transforming every cell of her body. The parts of her body that had been damaged by her suicide jump seemed to heal magically; the venom froze her perfectly in that moment, and made her the epitome of physical perfection for all eternity. Carlisle bent double for a moment with a hand to his blood filled mouth, fighting his thirst, before grabbing the trolley and moving the writhing Esme to a safer area where she would transform and awake staring up at her husband to be, Doctor Carlisle Cullen.

'How does he not smell or hear us?' She whispered through the darkness, considering the reek of time and space dust coming from the Doctor that practically burned her nose.

'The Tardis is shielding us' The Doctor pushed the cabinet door open and stepped out onto the hard stone floor, 'I suppose you've never seen your experience from this angle' From his bottomless pockets he withdrew a lollypop, stuck it in his mouth and moved briskly to admire the view from the makeshift window. With one hand in his pocket he pulled the white stick from his mouth turned to her and added, 'How did you happen to be in need of a morgue?'

Esme held her hands tightly together; unsure of the words to use 'I, tried to take my life,' it was not the explanation the Doctor had expected. He let the hand with his lollypop drop to his side. He frowned, fighting back the emotions building inside him. He couldn't imagine for a moment why such a good hearted woman would want to end her life, 'I had a son Doctor. He died a few days after he was born. It was a very difficult time'

The Doctor didn't press the matter, lowering his tearing eyes, he instead tossed his lollypop into the open drain in the floor, 'Let's get you back home,' he murmured leading her out of the dark morgue.


End file.
